Batgirl #12: Changing Course

Cass was already moving in a new direction in “The Three Swords,” and with “The War of Shadows Part 1,” that move feels complete. Perhaps more than anything else, Batgirl #12 is a transition issue. Cass’s internal monologue, while not overly verbose, dominates the first several pages. Brombal quickly sums up Cass’s experiences from the first eleven issues, moves her forward in time slightly, and fills in the very small gap between Batgirl #11 and #12. Batgirl #12 offers an exceptionally strong jumping on point as a result. By the end of the issue, Cass has the equivalent of a brand new mission.

One aspect of Cass’s new direction in Batgirl #12 involves a more concrete separation from her life in Gotham City. Part of this is merely suggested–Cass is considering working with Nyssa Al-Ghul and her newly discovered brother, Jade Tiger, continues to push back on the idea of working with bad guys. More explicit is Oracle reaching out to Cass, worried because she won’t talk to Stephanie and might be slipping back into old behavior patterns. Brombal’s choice to have Cass offer one response before ultimately hanging up on Oracle mid-sentence feels final. But at the same time, he gives it a kind of temper tantrum quality which leaves open the question of whether Cass is going to need this part of the Bat-family as the series goes on.

The latter half of Batgirl #12 is essentially a world building exercise. Cass is brought into a secret valley in the Himalayas, Samsara, from which Nyssa operates. At this point the issue becomes dialogue heavy as Cass is taken on a tour through this new environment. The world and motivations Brombal builds are interesting, especially if readers have followed the whole series to this point. That said, the sheer volume of dialogue slows the issue down. Fortunately Miyazawa’s art and Spicer’s coloring do a good job realizing this world and keep the sequence interesting until a shocking ending sends the issue out on a high energy note.

Miyazawa’s work in Batgirl is often very intense–whether emotionally when characters are more at rest or visceral when they are involved in action. Batgirl #12 doesn’t feature as many of those moments. A few early pages feature a distressed Cass. And a very brief sequence on the final three pages delivers a moment of action.

Here, though, it’s background details that prove the most important. Miyazawa’s depiction of Samsara gives life to Brombal’s dialogue. Cracked and crumbling masonry suggest the original settlement’s age. This is reinforced by weeds growing up through cracks in stone floors. In other panels, Miyazawa emphasizes Samsara’s connection to nature with fields full of taller grass, streams covered with lily pads, and lush trees in the background. The setting has a timeless, one-with-nature paradise quality.

Spicer’s coloring never lets the captivating environment steal the focus from the characters, though. A consistent choice Spicer makes in Batgirl is to make character coloring more vivid than the background they are in front of. That choice is particularly effective during the Samsara sequence where Miyazawa’s depiction of the environment could run away with the focus. Spicer keeps the characters richer in color relative to the backgrounds which keeps the eye fixed on them rather than wander in the wider panels.

Text dominates several sequences in Batgirl #12, especially through the introduction of Samsara. Napolitano is very effective at keeping the various dialogue bubbles and caption boxes not just organized so they are easy to read, but also out of the way of Miyazawa’s impressive art. With this volume of text, it would be easy for the lettering to distract from the rest of the panel.